Canon 5D Mark IV Hands-On 4k and HD Video Quality Tests

The Canon 5D Mark IV is first in the 5D series to have 4k video capabilities. We tested both the 4K and HD video capabilities, and evaluate them in this video hands-on review.

We took the Canon 5D Mark IV to the Canon-sponsored Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta for 4K tests and shot HD footage on a number of locations.

The Canon 5D Mark II was the first DSLR to offer cinema-level HD video, and it—as well as the 5D Mark III that followed—were used in countless video shoots, and in the production of dozens of feature films. The world of 4K digital cameras has seen rapid developments in the last few years, with professional-level solutions available from a number of vendors including Nikon, Fujifilm, Olympus and most notably Sony and Panasonic.

Meanwhile, Canon continues to improve the well-regarded C-series of cinema cameras. Like a 5D Mark II that grew upward and outward to support the highest level video capabilities, the C-series cameras now pack Canon’s highest level video features into their bodies, leaving the 5D series to trail in their video functionality, instead of leading the way. For full-on cinema production, that’s not a bad thing. The C-series bodies include controls and a design that make it easy to capture breathtaking video without some of the inherent cumbersomeness of using a still camera as a video camera.

That said, many photographers have come to love the 5D for video creation, and a whole industry sprang up to support videographers and cinematographers using the 5D series.

With the introduction of 4K video, Canon upgrades the venerable video functionality in the 5D, although a few key features are missing. The camera does not capture video in a “LOG” format, the video equivalent of RAW, and it does not support 4K over HDMI.

This video covers the hits and misses with the 5D IV’s video capabilities.

In this related video, we evaluated the new time-lapse-movie mode, in which users can set an intervalometer timer and the 5D Mark IV will create in-camra time lapse movies.